Barryscourt Castle (''Caisleán Chúirt an Bharraigh'' in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

) is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

located in eastern

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns a ...

in southern

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, close to the town of

Carrigtwohill Carrigtwohill, officially Carrigtohill (), is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of 5,080 (2016). It is 12 kilometres east of Cork city. It is connected to Cork Suburban Rail and is bypassed by the N25 road. Carrigtwohill is on ...

History

The site on which Barryscourt castle now stands has been occupied for over a thousand years- there is evidence of a wooden

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

having been built next to a stream at the site sometime in the 7th century, long before any fortification existed there. Barryscourt fell into the hands of the

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

de Barry The de Barry family is a noble family of Cambro-Norman origins which held extensive land holdings in Wales and Ireland. The founder of the family was a Norman Knight, Odo, who assisted in the Norman Conquest of England during the 11th century. ...

family in the 12th century, and masonry from this period found at the site may be the remains of another watermill or possibly an early fortification built by the Barrys. While the de Barry's lands in various parts of

were divided amongst various branches of the family, Barryscourt remained in the possession of the most powerful branch, the Barrymores (''Barra mór'' or "Great Barry" in

). The Barrymore line later became extinct, Barryscourt thus passing to a distant cousin, James FitzRichard of the Barryroes (''Barra rua'', "Red Barry"), in 1556. The present

Tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

at Barryscourt was probably built late in the reign of the Barrymores, either in the 15th or 16th century, with a tentative date of about 1550 based on the architectural style, and became the family seat of the Barrys. The Barrys supported the

Desmond Rebellions The Desmond Rebellions occurred in 1569–1573 and 1579–1583 in the Irish province of Munster. They were rebellions by the Earl of Desmond, the head of the Fitzmaurice/FitzGerald Dynasty in Munster, and his followers, the Geraldines an ...

of 1569 and 1579, and in 1581 they destroyed or severely damaged the family castles to prevent English forces from capturing them, including Barryscourt, which was threatened by an army led by

Sir Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebelli ...

. After the suppression of the second rebellion, the Barrys were pardoned by

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

and Barryscourt was repaired, with an outer wall or "

bawn A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional sp ...

" surrounding an inner courtyard being added, including 3 corner towers. Barryscourt ceased to be main residence of the Barry family in 1617, but was evidently still an important fortification for many years afterwards, as it was attacked and captured in 1645, during the

Irish Confederate War The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...

. The marks caused by the impact of

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

balls during this attack can still be seen on the castle walls. Barryscourt castle eventually fell into disuse, and a house was built by the Coppinger family (who had taken over the property from the Barrys) next to the castle in the early 18th century; this house has long since disappeared. The Barryscourt Trust was set up in 1987 for the purpose of conserving and developing the potential of the castle as a heritage site. In the 1990s, the relatively intact shell of the tower house was repaired and reroofed by Dúchas, and is now a popular tourist heritage site run by the Office of Public Works. The interior is furnished as it would have been in the 16th century. The castle has daily guided tours available free of charge.

Architecture

Barryscourt castle was built in a style fairly typical in

in the 16th century, consisting of a main tower house building with smaller adjacent buildings arranged around a courtyard, which was protected by an outer "bawn" or curtain wall, with 3 smaller corner towers. A large building once stood next to the main tower inside the bawn, and was probably a dining hall, but only ruins remain. The main tower is situated at the south-west corner of the roughly rectangular curtain wall and the main entrance to the courtyard is right next to it, set into the south curtain wall (there is also a smaller gate in the north curtain wall). The dungeon is a drop-prisoner-in-from-the-top type. Three smaller turrets project from the north-east, south-east and south-west corners of the main tower. These three turrets are 5 storeys high, while the main block of the tower is only 3 storeys high.

References

Medieval Ireland: The Barryscourt Lectures I-X. Published by the Barryscourt Trust in association wit
Cork County Council
and Gandon Editions, Kinsale, 2004. Editors: John Ludlow and Noel Jameson.

External links

- official site at Heritage Ireland {{Historic Irish houses , state=collapsed Castles in County Cork National Monuments in County Cork De Barry family Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland Museums in County Cork Tower houses in the Republic of Ireland

History

Architecture

See also

References

External links